"So I'm working with this band called Gladshot! These guys are great! They are from New York and they are really cool. Wait until you hear the songs! Really great melodies and they sing their asses off. This record is gonna surprise a lot of people!"
- John Agnello dot com (Sonic Youth, Hold Steady producer)

"One of the nicest surprises we've had all year"
- Pop Matters

"...a more rocking, co-ed, Toad the Wet Sprocket"
- TimeOut NY

"Have you met Gladshot? ... Everybody's talking about Gladshot"
- Joe Franklin



Berkeley Place - "New York's Gladshot is perfectly named: Their music is clean pop with shiny harmonies and choruses that are instantly familiar .. Nice lyrics, sunny pop, and spot-on production by John "The Hold Steady" Agnello, this is a band you should have heard about before now. It's got potential all-ages appeal. In fact, the only critique I'd offer is that it should have been released in June. Right before summer"

Here Comes the Flood .. "Burn Up & Shine is pretty near the top of this year's best indie releases"

The Devil Has the Best Tuna - "literate sun-kissed pop that's as finely crafted as a Shaker cabinet"

Kata Rokkar .. "strong and super sweet melodies"

Umbilical Chord.. "Long gone are the days where artists like the Beatles or the Eagles were able to combine meaningful lyrics and sing-a-long melodies. Gladshot, however, crafts songs rife with musicality and addictive choruses while embracing the art of songwriting"

The Frontloader .. (from Swapmeet Louie's 5 Most Played iPod Songs) 'Early Light' has a great chorus, and I found myself playing the song over and over again just to get to that payoff. It wasn't until I looked at the playcount did I realize that I listened to the song ten times in a row. That's over a half-hour of hitting 'rewind.' The rest of [Burn Up and Shine] is just as catchy, and I'm actually glad I had to leave or else I would have sat there for a much longer time, hitting 'rewind' to every song.

WLUR blog - "Burn Up & Shine was produced by John Agnello, who's done work for The Hold Steady, which means I automatically endorse this record. Like Rilo Kiley before them, they make the guy-to-girl vocal switch seamlessly and effectively, providing a strikingly coherent album that interweaves a host of sounds and styles. Swirling indie pop with chiming guitars and upbeat melodies. Charming, really"

Music of the Moment .. "Perfect Pop!" ... The brains behind Gladshot, Debbie Andrews and Mike Blaxill, really have found a true musical partner in each other... The 12 songs on Burn Up And Shine are diverse, interesting and instantly charming, and the album's a real grower. If you're looking for a collection of perfect pop songs, you should definitely check out Gladshot!

Metaphor .. "Gladshot gives me a happy tingling feeling inside..."




DAILY PROGRESS, Charlottesville VA
by Kate Andrews
Gladshot Combines Best of Music and Lyrics

Debbie Andrews and Mike Blaxill often overlap in conversation. He finishes her sentences, or one chats over the other's thoughts. It's a true partnership in music as well. Their group, Gladshot, arose from a thoughtful pop songwriters' community in New York. Andrews, who plays keyboards, and Blaxill who plays guitar, share vocal duties on their debut album "Relic". They will open here Saturday for local blues artist Corey Harris and the 5x5.

"We met as writers and kind of hooked up that way" Blaxill says. "We got a lot of great feedback" Andrews adds. They often write lyrics and music apart and combine the best features. Many of the best songs, Andrews says, are finished in a day or two. "A whole chorus will come with all the words and that's the best", she says.

One exception is "Resurrection", a song on Relic that took six months to finish. Parts were done early, but Andrews and Blaxill kept returning to the tune, sometimes plugging in "five-year-old ideas" that were often no good. The duo was careful because "You don't want to wreck the original idea", Blaxill says.

Gladshot's already gained exposure on such television shows as "Jack & Jill" and "Higher Ground" in which their song "Feel You" was background for a scene in which "Star Wars" alum Hayden Christensen announces to his father that's he's sleeping with his stepmother.

It's a long way from Andrews' classical beginnings. "It helped me move my fingers easier" she says of her classical training. She quickly fell in the thrall of jazz, which served as a bridge to Gladshot's pop. "I really like Steely Dan" Andrews says. Elton John and Joni Mitchell, who has her own jazz leanings, are favorites as well.

Andrews first arrived in New York as part of the Broadway cast of "Hair". Then 16, she landed the role of Crissy, who sings "Frank Mills". Although Andrews seemed a little reluctant to discuss the nudity-heavy hippie musical, Gladshot's publishing company is called Frankly Mills Music.

One unforgettable sight in Detroit - during her first dress rehearsal, or "undress rehearsal" - where she performed "Hair" before joining the Broadway cast, was Meat Loaf ("really nice guy"), who sang Age of Aquarius. "He was the first man I saw naked!" Andrews exclaims.

Blaxill took a quite different route to pop singerdom, bouncing between Nashville and New York. After singing to a bunch of blue hairs bussed to a show at Nashville's famed Bluebird cafe, Blaxill came to the realization that he was more of a New York kinda guy.


POP MATTERS
by Bill Holmes

Singer-songwriters Debbie Andrews and Mike Blaxill front this quintet...great harmony-laced pop with a touch of 70s California. Infectious songs like "Feel You" and "Running Past Rosetta" should be drop-kicking inferior tripe off radio playlists everywhere. They have everything - sing-a-long hooks, strong harmonies, efficient but great guitar solos.

Classical/jazz-influenced Debbie Andrews' work on Wurlitzer and Hammond B3 just as often adds a hip and dreamy edge to the material. Her harmonies with guitar troubadour Blaxill are picture perfect. The material is solidly written, well produced, earnest pop that is appealing on many layers.

Blaxill's vocals might be at least as valuable to the mix. When he's singing lead, you are left wondering where you heard that voice before. Then you realize you haven't - it's just that you can not imagine someone with pipes like that not being better known. Ditto this band, and ditto this record. Gladshot is one of the nicest suprises I have had all year.


NPR Radio WVIA, FM
by DJ George Graham

The different variations and permutations in the configuration of rock bands helps keep the music interesting. Sometimes a group can be distinctive for its material, or for its instrumentation, or for the sound of the lead singer's voice. This week we have another noteworthy variation that combines a number of worthwhile ingredients in one group who make for pleasing, intelligent pop-tinged rock. The group is called Gladshot, and their debut CD is Relic.

Mike Blaxill & Debbie Andrews combine their respective musical attributes to create music that bears an outward resemblance to a kind of 60s-2000s pop hybrid, but has a surprising degree of depth and staying power, making it more than just attractive pop.

The songs on this fairly modest-length CD get right to the point, and do it with a nice combination of pop melodicism and instrumental tastefulness. The opening piece, Girl on Empty epitomizes Gladshot's sound, with the joint Blaxill-Andrews composition sung mostly by Blaxill, but featuring Ms. Andrews' decidedly retro electric piano sound, and her supple backing vocals. Ms. Andrews does the lead vocals on another joint composition, Dog on a Skylight, which shows a bit of Ms. Andrews' jazz influence in its harmonic sophistication. The title's curious metaphor makes for some interesting lyrical images. Another example of Gladshot's often distinctive lyrical approach -- this time in a more energetic musical context -- is Running Past Rosetta. Ms. Andrews provides the organ to the straight-ahead rock setting. Ms. Andrews' composition He Dreams Alone is one of the more laid-back musically and melancholy lyrically, while it still manages to keep a kind of positive musical direction. Never Been to Vegas is a narrative song that combines an interesting, though sketchy story, with the group's knack for combining bits of pop influence that can come close to mass-market material while maintaining the group's level of musical sophistication. One of the CD's highlights is No Reason, which is a nice blend of the band's energy and musical acumen for creating a song that combines elements of 60s pop with 21st century influences. The CD ends with a track that allows Ms. Andrews to show her jazzy influence, End of the World. Both musically and in terms of lyrical approach, there are hints of Steely Dan, and the result is also quite worthwhile.

Relic is one of those albums that proves to be more impressive the more you listen to it. The combination of the influences and talents makes for a recording with surprising depth and musical interest. There's adroit lyric writing, tunes you can find yourself humming, an instrumental sound that juxtaposes Ms. Andrews' decidedly retro keyboard sounds with occasional hints of trendy drum loops, and pleasing vocals from both of the principals. It's classy pop music in the best sense.

Sophisticated pop music may seem like an oxymoron to some, but creating music that you can tap your toes to and hum, that also has a degree of depth and staying power is a skillful balancing act. Gladshot have achieved that equilibrium their first time around, and that makes their CD all the more notable.


NEUFUTUR
by James McQuiston

Gladshot's new CD "Stand", while still having some deep roots in the alternative rock of America's collective past, is still able to create music that is compelling enough for individuals of the current day to pick up and be completely into. Musically talented, able to arrange circles around the vast majority of artists currently out, Gladshot can make a simple two-part harmony ("Fallen") one of the most beautiful things heard.

Silky-smooth, Mike Blaxill's voice is at least as musical as Debbie Andrew's piano is vocal, making the average track on Stand perfect college-rock fare. Debbie's piano lines, especially noticed in a track like "Hotel Room" are warm, earthy, and emotional, adding a second aural presence to the disc. "Dead Ends and the Glory" is a long look back at the innocuous power-pop of the early nineties, bubbling up during the grunge revolution but finally getting its respect afterwards.

Recalling the best of REM and Soul Asylum for "Reckoning", the intertwining of Mike and Deborah's vocals provides a different iteration of the pop music on the rest of the disc. What really is nice to see is that Gladshot uses a full band to play a style of music that is traditionally only played by backwards-baseball cap wearing fratboys with acoustics. Now, the traditional purveyors of the music would be more than fine doing what they want with the musical style, if the acoustic just wasn't so hollow and empty compared to the piano/guitar solos of Gladshot, perfected during "Coming Around Again" and "Sunshine Hotel". "Sunshine Hotel" is an up-beat track, with Debbie taking primary vocal responsibilities but using the sultry, jazz-like voice of hers to provide a more R&B-themed track.

Pick up Gladshot's "Stand" if you either went to college in the early to mid nineties or are a fan of well-written, well-played music.


MUSIC DISH
by Muzikman

The group Gladshot and their debut CD "Relic" is a literal jackpot of finely crafted power pop pleasures with many winding and turning musical roads. Pure and sweet like honey, the lyrics ebb and flow from the endless poetic wellspring provided by Debbie Andrews (wurlizter piano, vocals) and Mike Blaxill (guitar, vocals). These people really are poets in every sense of the word, including fine musicians, producers and singers. This is an extraordinary CD. There is simply no other to way quantify it. Every single cut is excellent and radio ready. I can already hear the songs blaring from car radios as they drive by.

Blaxill's vocals are what the whole group revolves around. His smooth as silk delivery allows the marvelous poetic journeys found in the songs to come to life. This music reminds me of groups like the Byrds, with the jangling clear guitar creating a magic carpet the vocalist can ride on. To make it all complete, Andrews' graceful piano stays in accompaniment with the rest of the group taking their sound to another level. It's that dreamy and alluring sound that just sucks you right in and doesn't let you go. It isn't one dimensional music mind you, it's very powerful and reaches you in many ways through the diversity and flexibility of the music, and of course the outstanding lyrical content. "Perfect Kiss", was the one track that really moved me, lyrically and musically.

So are you ready to hear one the best CDs of the year? Count on it, it will be.

GO GIRLS
by Tanya Goolsby

Gladshot makes warm candid music. It is a tightly woven tapestry of pop and roots with leads from Mike Blaxill, clean, lush harmonies from Debbie Andrews and a backing band as dense and feral as an uncut forest. Their sound is wide as a field of new barley, fluid as a waterfall, open like a backdoor screen...ohmygog, I could go on and on. I'm mad for this CD.

All 12 songs on Relic are listener friendly. They are easy-going, finely crafted and hum-able. They are the types of songs that everyone likes to sing along with - strong, even, melodic, and unpretentious. Lots of bands/songwriters think they have to be outrageous, super-clever, and ultra-hip. There is nothing wrong with chasing boundaries, but it's so great to hear a band like Gladshot making simply good music.

I am so glad I was able to review this CD. I give it the highest rating possible...It is so, so, so good.